Breaking Bad & Better Call Saul: 10 Characters Killed At The Perfect Time
9. Better Call Saul - Howard Hamlin
Howard Hamlin was arguably Better Call Saul's most tragic character.
The charismatic attorney was initially portrayed as the show's villain, before Chuck took up the mantle towards the end of the first season. While possessing some lamentable personal shortcomings - his vindictive treatment of Kim being a notable example - Howard was ultimately a good, principled man.
The second H in HHM looked to bring Jimmy into the fold after years of rejection while somehow maintaining his positive, wholesome attitude as his marriage and career fell apart. As such, the fact that Jimmy and Kim attempted to destroy Howard's life is indefensible from any kind of moralistic standpoint.
The demise of Jimmy's longtime foil is Better Call Saul's biggest "holy sh*t" moment by far. It was perfectly timed in the sense that while audiences never saw it coming, it is clear with hindsight that Howard had fulfilled his character's narrative purpose by confronting Jimmy and Kim. In one of the show's most devastating twists, the only reward for the blisteringly honest tirade that Howard delivers is a bullet to the head, courtesy of Lalo Salamanca.
Howard's shocking death in the penultimate episode of the first half of the final season could not have been timed any better - final, irrefutable proof that the twisted game Jimmy and Kim have chosen to play has the most abhorrently dire of consequences.